Formaggio Kitchen Exclusive

This preserve is made from a special peach that gets its name (peach of the vine) from the fact that it was traditionally grown alongside grape vines as a kind of early warning signal for the vigneron. As the peach is a more fragile fruit than the grapes, the peach would be first to exhibit signs of disease or infestation giving the vigneron time to protect his precious grapes.

The peach itself has a deep red skin that permeates into the flesh for a dramatic look. The flavors are typically more tart than other peach varieties which makes it better suited to preserves.

Confitures de Raphael

When RaphaŽl came to Boston in the spring of 2004 he saw stacks of his jams lining the shelves of our store. For those of us who had been happily eating his jam since we first started importing it, it was a little like meeting a culinary superstar and we were able to thank him in person for mornings filled with apricot jam, cherry jam, raspberry-grapefruit jam....

RaphaŽl uses fruit that is organically grown in his orchards as well as a small selection of citrus fruits grown in the warmer regions of Europe.

After picking the fruit, he cooks down different varieties of a particular fruit so that he can obtain the exact balance in flavor and texture.

Each batch is made over an open fire in a big copper cauldron in his kitchen in Brittany. Then each jar is lovingly adorned with a hand-painted label rendered by his aunt.